I never made it as a working class hero
by General KJ
Summary: Drake is hiding something from his family but Megan and Josh are determined to find out what it is. Rated T for a bit of language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Some of you might have expected an update for an already existing story of mine, but, nope! It's a new one :) For the first time ever, some parts of this fic will be POV.**

**They are all about the same age as they were in Merry Christmas Drake & Josh.**

**The inspiration came from SorrowNoMore's story; When September Ends :)**

**Story title is a lyric from the song 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day.**

**Chapter 1 (Megan's POV)**

Drake's been acting really weird lately. He's eating healthier for a start; I didn't think Drake even knew what eating healthily was! But he's doing it, and he's doing a pretty good job of it, and it scares me a little bit, and everybody knows I don't get scared easily.

He also hasn't been on any dates recently; he just spends all his free time working out in the garden, in a makeshift gym. He made it out of old crates, metal poles and even stuck some barbed wire out there, I've seen him try to crawl under it as quickly as possible… he's quick but he constantly gets cuts from it and it tears his clothes but he doesn't care. I only like watching him get hurt if I'm the cause, and this time I'm not, so I don't like it one bit!

Another thing I've noticed is that he always makes a dash for the door whenever the mail gets here; he looks through it, then chucks it all on the table when there's nothing for him and casually walks off.

I've tried getting there first but over the last few weeks he's gotten a lot faster, and I mean a LOT! It's probably all those runs round the block he does… Well, that's what he says before he leaves, but at the speed he can sprint it wouldn't surprise me if he ran all the way to the premier and back in the time it takes him to 'run round the block'.

He's stronger as well. I used to be able to barge into his room and neither he nor Josh could do anything about it, but now he just picks me up, takes me to the door, closes it with me outside, and holds it shut. Even when I push against it, it doesn't budge. He never used to be able to do that.

Speaking of Josh, they never hang out anymore. When I asked Josh why not, he just shrugged and continued watching TV.

It's like he's drifting away from us but I'm the only one who seems to have noticed.

His guitar's gathering dust, I don't remember the last time he played it, I miss hearing the little sound of notes coming from his bedroom as I pass the stairs, now there's just silence.

I don't even think he sleeps anymore. He just takes power naps between workout sessions.

He's become more observant as well; he sees my pranks coming before I've even had a chance to lure him in. He counters everything I throw at him, he's no fun anymore, my enjoyment came from scaring and surprising him and Josh, but now only Josh gets scared, and that's only if Drake doesn't ruin it first… and I'm worried about him… I don't know why, but I am.

Something's wrong and I'm gonna find out what it is cause I'm his little sister and that's my job!

**(Josh's POV)**

I didn't really notice until Megan mentioned it but Drake and I don't really hang out anymore, he's always too busy. When she asked me why, I kinda just shrugged cause I really _don't_ know why. He's always out in the garden or out for a run, I don't remember him being particularly active before, but now he's almost too active. It's kinda suspicious.

He doesn't even drink a bottle of mountain fizz after brushing his teeth anymore, he's just not the same Drake I know, and I don't know why.

I decided that the best thing to do would be ask Mom because she knows Drake better than anyone, well, actually Megan probably knows him better but she kinda scares me, even after all these years, so I'm just gonna ask Mom.

I walked into the kitchen to see Mom stirring up some casserole. She looked up at me as I walked in.

"Hey Josh!" she said cheerily, before going back to concentrating on making dinner.

"Hi Mom," I replied, not so cheerily.

She put down her mixing bowl and turned to face me fully.

"What's the matter Josh?" She asked with a quizzical look on her face.

"Uh, have you noticed anything different about Drake?" I asked, a little nervous. I don't know why I was nervous; I just felt it all of a sudden.

"Actually I have," she responded with a smile, "he's eating better now, it means I can cook things I haven't cooked in a long time!"

"Do you why he's acting different lately?" I questioned, but I got the feeling I already knew the answer.

"Nope," she answered, picking up her bowl again, "I try not to question the good things."

And with that she went back to preparing dinner.

"Oh." Was all I could say. Whether or not she had actually noticed anything except his eating was different I didn't know.

There's not really much point asking Dad because he's totally oblivious to anything right now, he's too focused on beating Bruce Winchell in another TV awards ceremony. Looks like I'm gonna have to ask Megan if she knows anything about what's happening to Drake.

Just suck up your fear Josh, you don't have to be afraid of this little girl, she can't really be that scary… can she? I hope not.

I made my way upstairs to Megan's room, dreading every moment of what I was about to do, but I had no choice; I was doing this to find out what was going on with Drake, to help him if I can.

I carefully turned the handle of Megan's bedroom door, sweat dripping from my face, I still don't understand why I'm so afraid of her. She's just a little girl after all… a scary… evil… demon of a girl.

As I opened the door I saw Megan typing something on her laptop. She looked up at me.

"What do you want BOOB?" She said it with menace in her voice, but the usually fiery anger was gone from her eyes. She looked afraid.

"Are you alright Megs?" I asked, concerned.

"Of course I am, now answer me BOOB, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

I now remember why I was so afraid of her, but it didn't matter, I'm already here so I'm gonna carry on.

"Ok… Do you know why Drake's acting a bit weird lately?" I said the last bit a little faster than I would have liked but I had to get it out quickly or she might hurt me.

"You noticed it too?" she asked, a little calmer, for which I was quite relieved.

"Yeah," I replied, "he just doesn't seem very 'Drake' as of late."

"We have to find out what's going on!" She said abruptly, closing her laptop and getting up off her bed.

"How?"

"First of all, we need to try and get a look at some of his mail." She instructed.

"His mail?" I questioned, "I dunno Megs, his mail's private, we shouldn't be looking at it."

"Do you wanna help him or not?" She asked.

"Of course I do. But I think looking at his mail is wrong."

"Fine then I'll do it myself!" She shouted.

"What's so important about his mail anyway?" I asked suspiciously.

"I don't know but he's always in a rush to get it so it's as good a place to start as any."

**A/N: Well… it's a start, not my best work but I'm hoping it'll get better :)**

**R&R :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **An update…? Here…? I didn't think they existed in this part of the internet! :)**

**Well, some of you might have guessed what Drake's up to, but for those of you who haven't, I won't spoil it for you, so read on. :)**

**Chapter 2**

**(Josh's POV)**

I can't believe she talked me into this! I'm in mine and Drake's shared room, looking for his mail!

Megan said it would be less suspicious if I was searching our room seeing as it was my room. She said she was gonna try and get some of the mail that comes through the door, she was gonna wait there till it came through and she was gonna quickly hide any of Drake's until we got a chance to read it, then give him the rest of the pile.

It wasn't the best plan, but it was all we had on such short notice, the mail would be here soon and Megan wanted to find out what was going on as soon as possible.

I don't know what's gotten into her lately; normally she wouldn't care if Drake was acting different. She'd probably be too wrapped up in her world of pranking to even notice a change. Though I can't really say that, he's never been this… different. Maybe she does care after all.

I was abruptly snapped out of my moment of wondering by a familiar voice…

"What are you doing?" came the voice from behind me.

"Aaarrrgghh!" I cried, startled by the silent approach of my brother, Drake, lifting my head out from under his elevated bed a little too quickly and banging it on the hard wood.

I quickly turned to face him, whilst rubbing the back of my head and wincing in pain.

"What?" I asked, a little dazed.

"What were you doing under my bed?" he repeated, a look of confusion and annoyance on his face.

"Uh… uh…" I stuttered.

I panicked. I should have planned an excuse in case he came in rather than just diving into it. I looked at the coffee table in front of the T.V. and saw a used glass from yesterday.

"I uh… I… was… practicing a magic trick…"

I looked over at him; he wasn't showing any signs of interrupting me. I dashed over to the table and picked up the glass, holding it up in his direction so he could clearly see it.

"…I put a ball under this cup, and made it disappear and now I can't find it." I nearly cringed at the unbelievably lame excuse I came up with.

"But the cup is made of glass… it's see-through." He said matter-of-factly.

I looked down at the glass, damn it, should have thought this through a bit more.

"Uh… well… I did it under the table where I couldn't see it." I couldn't bear to listen to myself anymore.

"Well, did you check under the table?" Drake asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah… but it's not there."

I looked up at him again. He sees right through me, I just know it! His face was disbelieving, but his response was something I didn't expect.

"Riiiiiiight, okay."

…He bought it?

Am I really that terrible at magic? Well it doesn't really matter, he bought it, I'm in the clear, everything's alright, and I'm safe.

As Drake made his way over to his bed I noticed a letter in his hand.

"Any mail for me?" I asked.

He looked down at the letter and switched it to the hand furthest away from me before continuing.

"I dunno, its downstairs on the table if you wanna check."

I stood up quickly and started towards the door.

"Oh… okay… I'll do that… right now…"

"Okay then." He responded, with a quizzical look on his face.

When I was a few steps from the door I broke into a run and didn't stop until I got downstairs where Megan was waiting.

**(Megan's POV)**

I didn't know why Josh was running, but he thundered down the stairs. I just hoped he hadn't spilled the beans like a gutless worm.

He was panting like a dog. He had got fitter and more active than he used to be in the last few years but he was definitely not in the same physical condition as Drake now was, seeing as Drake could run round the block at high speed and not even need a drink when he got back, but Josh couldn't even run from his bedroom to the living room without nearly passing out.

He leant on the wooden dining chair to catch his breath, so I decided to start the questioning.

"Did you find anything?"

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath to calm down before responding.

"No, he interrupted my search; I didn't have time to look properly." He said, a little calmer.

"You didn't tell him anything did you?" I questioned angrily.

"No… I said the thing… with the cup… and the ball… under the table." He started to hyperventilate.

I reached over for a plastic bag on the table and handed it to him. He nodded his appreciation, before using it to steady his breathing by breathing in and out into the bag whilst closing the end of slightly with his left hand.

When he had steadied his breathing he felt it was his turn to ask questions.

"I saw the letter in his hand; I take it you didn't get to it in time?" He asked.

"He went for a morning run and met the mailman on the way back up the drive; he took the mail before coming inside. I didn't get the chance." I tried to explain.

Josh's face visibly dropped, but I could tell he understood it wasn't my fault.

"So we're no closer to finding out what's going on than we were an hour ago?" He asked, disappointed.

"Hold on a second, I have an idea, stay here!" I instructed.

Josh just gave me a confused look, but complied as I ran upstairs.

I waited a couple of minutes for Drake to go to the bathroom. When he did, I silently ran out of my room and up the second flight of stairs to his. Upon entering his room, I quickly but quietly leapt across it towards his bed. I carefully lifted his pillow to see a number of opened envelopes with letters inside them.

I scooped a couple up, but not too many that he would become suspicious, purposefully leaving some of the more recent ones.

As I was making my way back across his room the door handle started to turn. I quickly stuffed the letters up the back of my t-shirt as Drake walked in. He looked annoyed.

"What are you doing in here?" he said, calmly. It was the calm, angry Drake that scares me the most.

"I lost my virtual pet, and I was checking if I left it in here." I said, keeping my cool a lot more than Josh probably did.

His expression softened a bit, but not too much.

"Well ask to come in my room next time." He instructed.

"Okay, will do." I replied, moving around him, facing him at all times.

"Wait a second." He said suddenly.

_Uh oh, he's caught me! _I thought.

To my surprise, he jumped across the room in two leaps and grabbed something off of his clock beside his pillow.

"Give this to Josh for me will ya?" he called out as he threw it towards me.

I managed to pull one hand free from holding the letters to catch what he had thrown. It was a small, red, plastic ball.

"What's this?" I asked, confused.

"Red ball." He said nonchalantly, before lying down on his bed.

**A/N: Hhhhhmmmm, what does his mail contain? You're gonna have to wait to find out… aren't I cruel? :)**

**R&R :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Woohoo, I updated, even I'm excited. I promised SaraParker12 that I would update today… so I did, cause I'm a man of my word… or so I like to think :)**

**Well this is the moment you've all been waiting for… it's mail opening time! :)**

**Chapter 3** **(Megan's POV)**

After going downstairs at a slightly faster pace than jogging, I found Josh standing exactly where I left him.

"Ya know, I didn't mean literally stay in this exact spot." I said, giggling a little.

"I know," he replied defensively, "I was staying safe, just in case."

I smiled, shaking my head at him. He could be such a dork sometimes.

"Well…? Did you get it or not?" He asked impatiently.

I scowled at him.

"Yes, of course I did! I always get what I want!"

"I've noticed." He said with a huff.

I produced the pile of letters and dumped them on the table. Josh looked quite shocked at the amount I brought down. He seemed to just stare at them, mouth agape. He also appeared to be examining them.

Josh soon broke the silence.

"How long has he been getting these." He asked.

"A while," I responded, "that's why we need to do something, he's been keeping something from us this long and we need to know about it!"

"I can't believe I didn't see all this mail!" Josh said, astonished.

"And that's not even all of it." I commented.

"Where was he hiding it all?" He questioned.

"Under his pillow! How could you not have looked there? It's, like, the most obvious and most 'Drake' place to hide stuff!" I almost shouted at him.

Josh just frowned at me a little but said nothing. So I picked up an envelope off the top of the pile. I carefully opened the already ripped paper. Josh's eyes were now on me and it was slightly unnerving, but I just tried to ignore him. I pinched the top of the letter in the envelope but hesitated slightly.

"Would you just open it already?" Josh nearly screamed at me, the tension was getting too much for him. (As I'm hoping it is for you.)

I pulled it out of the envelope and unfolded it. My eyes scanned the words on the piece of paper and all Drake's recent secrets spilled out into my mind. I couldn't see Josh's face behind the paper, but I could feel the anxiety rolling off him in waves.

"Well…? What does it say?" He asked impatiently.

I didn't say anything to him I just stared at this piece of paper, lost for words.

"Oh for the love of…" he started as he picked up another envelope off of the table.

He opened it quickly and pulled out the letter in a mad rush to find out what secrets it was keeping from him.

But then he too went silent, his face mirroring mine, with a look of pure and utter shock seemingly engraved on his features. Neither of us could tear our eyes from the letters in our hands.

I kept reading through the words in my head, trying to formulate words to describe what I felt.

_Congratulations Recruit_

_You have been accepted into the US Marine Corps. Report to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego on February 12th for a briefing session before starting your training on the 24th._

_Recruit training for those enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, includes a thirteen week process during which the recruit becomes cut off from the civilian world and must adapt to a Marine Corps lifestyle. During training, drill instructors train recruits in a wide variety of subjects including weapons training, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, personal hygiene and cleanliness, close order drill, and Marine Corps history._

_The training emphasizes physical fitness, and recruits must attain a minimum standard of fitness to graduate by passing a Physical Fitness Test. Recruits must also meet minimum combat-oriented swimming qualifications, qualify in rifle marksmanship with the M16A4 service rifle, and pass a 54-hour simulated combat exercise known as "The Crucible"._

_At the conclusion, recruits undergo Marine week and then graduation._

_We hope you will prosper under the guidance of our well trained Drill Instructors and other staff._

_**US Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego**_

**(A/N: I would just like to point out that this IS actually how it works… just thought I'd throw that out there.)**

"He's joining the marines?" I managed to whisper.

My voice couldn't break Josh out of his shocked trance, but somebody else's could…

"Yes… I am…" came a quiet voice from behind me.

I spun round to see Drake standing at the bottom of the stairs. I quickly turned my head to look back at Josh. He had managed to look up from the letter he was reading. His face still had a look of shock on it, but it was now mixed with confusion and fear that Drake had caught us looking at his mail.

"Uh… Drake we… uh… well ya see… MEGAN MADE ME DO IT! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" Josh squealed, throwing the letter in my direction and diving over the couch to take cover, expecting Drake to explode.

I turned to look at Drake again. He was staring at me with his big brown eyes, his features were soft and he didn't look angry but that scared me even more.

Tears were welling up in my eyes, partially because of what I thought Drake was going to do to us, and partially because he was joining the marines and Josh and I wouldn't get to see him, and people die in the marines.

Suddenly Drake threw his arms wide open. I flinched slightly because I thought he was gonna hit me, but I soon realized what he was doing. I ran at him and smacked into his now strong and muscular chest. I wrapped my arms round his torso and squeezed him tightly to stop myself from bawling. He, in turn, wrapped his arms round my shoulders and gently squeezed me back. I rested my head on his chest and tried to start breathing normally again.

We stood like this for a moment before I felt someone else come up behind me and hug me from behind, wrapping their arms round me and just managing to get them round Drake as well.

"I'm sorry I looked through your mail Drake." I sobbed honestly.

"Me too." Josh chimed in softly behind me.

"It's ok guys, I should've told you." Drake replied calmly.

Another moment passed before Josh had to ruin it. By pulling away and asking a stupid question.

"Mom and Dad don't know, do they?" he asked sternly.

"Not exactly, no." Drake said, lifting his chin from my head to look at Josh, but not letting go of me.

"When are you going to tell them?" Josh asked, "You're gonna have to tell them at some point."

"Yeah, well, I was still trying to work out how to tell you guys, until I saw Megan trying to get out of our room with my mail. I figured I might as well let you guys read it, cause I couldn't think of how to tell you." Drake explained.

"I see…" Josh said.

"But now, I was hoping you two could help me tell Mom and Walter?" He asked, sort of, it was more of a statement with a little bit of questioning at the end.

"I dunno Drake, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you joining the marines." Josh commented.

"Well, unfortunately for you, I've already made the decision and I've been accepted. All I'm asking is that you help me to break the news to our parents." Drake said, pleading.

"I'll help you tell them!" I interrupted, "I'm not happy about you joining either but I'll stick by you."

Drake looked down at me and smiled a wide smile, one that I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Thank you Megan." He whispered, kissing my forehead and leaning the side of his face on top of my head, hugging me tighter at the same time.

"I'll help you too," Josh said from a few feet away, "cause you're my brother and I care about you, and I support you're decisions… even if I do think they're crazy."

Drake looked up at him again and smiled, and Josh gave a toothy grin. For now, for the few weeks that Drake was still here it felt like everything was starting to go back to normal, except I wouldn't be pulling as many pranks as before, I'll be spending as much time with my brother as I can because I don't know exactly what's going to happen to him but I know that I care.

**A/N: End of chapter. Congratulations to those of you who guessed correctly, you get an imaginary gold star :)**

**There will be more chapters, this is not the end; I'm just getting into it.**

**Please leave your comments on the way out :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm not sure how many followers/fans I've lost due to the lack of updates for any of my stories… But for those of you who are still here and reading my fics, your loyalty will now be rewarded in the form of a new chapter :)**

**Chapter 4 (Megan's POV)**

It's been a few weeks since we found out about Drake joining the Marines. He had his briefing session a couple of weeks ago. The time has gone so fast since we found out about all this.

It's now just 2 days before Drake leaves for his 13 week training course. We still haven't told Mom and Walter yet, but today's the day. The day went pretty quick, I went to school, Josh went to college and Drake went to the local pool to try and beat his current record for swimming a mile. I'm not quite sure exactly how fast it was but it made Josh gasp when Drake told him, so I assume it's very fast.

When I finished school, I went outside to find Drake sitting in the driver's side of his and Josh's shared red roadster, with the roof down, while Josh sat in the passenger's seat. Drake's hair was still a little damp from his swim, so I guess he came straight here afterwards, picking Josh up on the way.

I smiled slightly as they smiled back at me. Though their smiles were ones of worry, mine was simply trying to make them feel better. They were worried about telling Mom and Walter that Drake was joining the Marines. Drake had become a fearless soldier since the start of the year, yet he was still afraid of our Mom's anger, it made me giggle a little.

"What's so funny?" Josh asked me, quite confused, as I approached the car.

"Nothing." I replied, smiling to myself, throwing my backpack in the car and climbing in after it.

"Got any ideas on how to break this to Mom?" Drake jumped in, looking in his rear-view mirror as he started the car.

"Not really," I answered honestly, "leaving it till the last minute probably wasn't the best idea."

Drake just grumbled in response and drove away from the school.

"Not helping Megan!" Josh exclaimed, turning his body to face me from the front seat.

"Shut up boob!" I retorted.

"See this is why Drake didn't tell you about this before, because you're so childish and immature!" Josh shouted back at me.

"I don't see you helping the situation!" I screamed.

That was the last straw. Drake swerved the car onto the sidewalk with a thud and slammed his handbrake on. He quickly turned to face us in his seat and bellowed at the top of his lungs…

"BE QUIET! …BOTH OF YOU! …or I'll make you get out and walk!"

He'd never shouted like that before, it scared me a bit, and it nearly made Josh crap himself. His face was twisted into a look of pure rage and it was getting redder by the second.

"Neither of you are helping at all!" He shouted, a little less forcefully this time, but still with immense authority.

People who were passing by were looking at us but Drake didn't care. He was too furious with us to care. He turned back to face the front, putting his left hand on the steering wheel and his right hand on the handbrake.

"If you have nothing constructive to say, don't say it at all… Both of you!" he said quietly but angrily, as he pulled out, back into the road.

The remainder of the journey home was in silence. Drake didn't even put the radio on… he was seriously pissed off. I just sat with my chin on the edge of the door and watched the traffic pass on the opposite side of the road. Josh did the same; leaning on the door with his elbow and leaning his chin on is hand.

When we eventually got home, Drake quickly got out of the car and headed towards the house while Josh and I gathered our stuff. We watched him open the door and head towards the kitchen, before the door slammed, blocking our view. We looked at each other before Josh broke the silence.

"I'm sorry for calling you childish and immature Megs." Josh said sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry for being irritating." I replied.

We both smiled at each other. I like to think that, in the days since we found out about Drake leaving, both Josh and I had grown up a little bit. We both realized that this was a serious situation, and that being childish wasn't going to help at all.

"Hug?" Josh asked grinning.

"Don't push it Josh!" I said raising my eyebrows and pointing my finger at him.

"Sorry." He said, clearing his throat and trying to act all manly.

We walked into the house side by side as Drake came out the kitchen drinking orange juice out of the carton.

"Drake!" came a voice from the kitchen, "Don't drink out of the carton!"

Drake just sighed and removed the carton from his lips, shaking it to make sure its contents were empty before doing a 360 degree spin and throwing it backwards over his shoulder. Judging by the thud and slight rattle that followed, it had ended up in the bin.

"Lucky shot." Josh muttered, a little jealous.

"What was that?!" Drake frowned.

"Are we going to tell Mom then?" I whispered, butting in before Josh made any other stupid comments.

"Are you two going to be a bit more mature?" Drake questioned.

"Yes." We both said, looking down slightly at the floor.

"Good." he replied, putting his arm round me, and looking down a bit, in my direction, "follow my lead."

"Wait!" Josh stopped us before we could go into the kitchen, "What should I do?"

Drake thought it over for a moment.

"You throw out some helpful facts if it starts to go wrong!" Drake exclaimed.

Satisfied with his answer, Drake and I then made our second attempt to get to the kitchen.

"Wait!" Josh said again.

"Ugh, what now?!" Drake groaned.

"Shouldn't we wait tell Mom and Dad at the same time?" Josh asked.

"He's gonna do the weather in a few minutes!" Drake answered, checking his imaginary watch, "he's a bad enough weatherman as it is, this'll put him right off his swing!"

I giggled, slightly muffled by Drake's arm round my face.

"Hey, stop that, it tickles!" Drake laughed, beginning to tickle my ribs.

"Uh, guys!" Josh called out, causing Drake to stop and look up at him, "I meant wait until he gets home before we tell them!"

"Tell them what?" A voice came from behind us.

My face dropped.

"Uh oh!" I exclaimed.

"Too late!" Drake said, a little worried, as we turned to face our Mom, standing in the kitchen doorway.

"How much did you hear?" Josh cringed.

"Enough to warrant suspicion!" Mom said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Alright… best get this over with…" Drake said, taking a deep breath.

"Mom…" he took another breath.

"…I…"

"For god's sake Drake, spit it out!" She ordered, getting a bit impatient.

"…I'm joining the Marines…" Drake blurted out.

Mom just stood, rooted to the spot, too shocked for words. She stared at Drake. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words.

"Mom…?" Josh asked, trying to urge her to respond.

Still she stood silently. Until her legs gave way and she passed out.

"MOM!" We all shouted.

**A/N: Hhhhhhhhmmmm… that didn't quite go as planned did it? Did you think that was gonna happen? I certainly didn't and I'm writin the damn thing! :)**

**Hope guys liked my first update in a while. R&R :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Alright, I can do more than one update within 24 hours; let's just hope it's a good one.**

**Chapter 5 (Megan's POV)**

I climbed out of Drake and Josh's attic bedroom window and onto the roof. Drake was sitting there holding his knees against his chest and staring up at the stars.

"Hey." I said quietly.

"I knew this would happen." Was his only response, he didn't even look at me; he just carried on staring into space.

"She woke up a few hours ago but she was still in a bit of shock, so she went back to sleep." I said, trying to break the tension.

Not long after she collapsed, Drake had carried mom upstairs to her bed and the three of us tucked her in. She's been there for the rest of the day, only waking up a couple of times. She hasn't really spoken much, but who can blame her? I remember Josh and I were kinda speechless when we found out.

We continued to stare at the sky in silence, watching the stars shine in the night sky. Just then, a pair of headlights turned onto the end of the street and started heading towards us. We could tell it was Walter's car; nobody comes down our road this late at night.

"This isn't gonna go well." Drake mumbled, standing as he did so.

I followed suit and we both climbed down off the roof. He went first, dropping from the roof and sliding through the window in one swift motion. I however, was not so graceful. I clung to the roof and swung, to try and reach the window sill. Unfortunately I couldn't reach it and my hand slipped off the guttering. I was lucky Drake was still standing at the window; he grabbed both my hands and pulled me up to the window. He let go of my right hand, put his now free hand round my waist and pulled me inside.

"Thanks." I whispered, still clinging onto him for dear life, feeling a little shaken up.

"It's what I'm here for." He said with a smile.

I like his smile; it's so warm and comforting. He doesn't smile all that often anymore, at least, not like he used to. Although recently, he hasn't had much to smile about. Even thought we're still close, and he's still my big brother, I feel like I'm losing him. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. He still cares about me, and I care about him, but all this training has left him devoid of most of his emotions. He's become like a machine now, and it's a bit scary.

We heard the front door open and Walter's call of _Honey I'm home!_ That's when we realized we'd been standing here for a few minutes now, just holding onto each other.

"Everything's gonna be okay, you know that right?" Drake questioned caringly.

"Yeah, but I feel like I should be the one telling you that." I giggled in response.

Drake laughed again and gently stroked my hair.

"We should probably go and explain to Walter what happened." Drake sighed.

"Piggy back?" I asked.

"Yes please!" Drake shouted, pretending to jump on my back.

I just laughed at him.

"Not you, idiot."

"Fine." He groaned.

I squealed as he swept me up and spun me round before charging out the room with me in his arms. We got as far as mom and Walter's room until Walter came running up the stairs with Josh following close behind.

"What happened?!" Walter cried out.

We both looked over his shoulder at Josh. Josh mouthed the words _I said nothing._

"We'll explain later, just go in and see her." Drake said, a little dejected.

Walter pushed past us and went in to see our mom, closing the door behind him. We turned to Josh.

"I told him she fainted, I didn't say why." Josh said, trying to defend himself.

"It's alright Josh, you didn't do anything wrong." Drake reassured him.

He put me down just as Walter came out of their room.

"She'll be alright, she's just exhausted." Walter sighed.

Both Drake and Josh visibly relaxed.

"But Drake," Walter said sternly, "I'd like a word with you in the kitchen."

Drake nodded and followed Walter down the stairs.

"Was he on the roof?" Josh asked after they had left.

"Yeah."

"What took you so long? You went up there like 20 minutes ago." He asked suspiciously.

"We sat there and watched the stars. Then I nearly fell off the roof…"

Josh raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"…but Drake caught me and helped me back inside."

"Sounds like you're getting soft." Josh grinned foolishly.

I shot him death glares and he quickly retracted his statement as he yelped and ran down the stairs. Who cares if Josh thought I was getting soft, I could still make him cry with but a few words.

And besides, I'm not getting soft, I just love Drake, I mean… I've never said it before… Especially not out loud… Maybe it's time I told Drake that I love him. He only has another day before he leaves, but he's not even packed. Maybe I could help him pack and let him know then. I guess if I leave it, it will be too late and he'll be gone for however long he's out there. I'll miss him, and I'll probably think about him everyday. I just hope he has enough time to video chat, I don't think I could last a whole year without seeing him and not knowing what's happening, or if he's alright.

…Okay, maybe I am getting a bit soft, but no one else has to know that…

**A/N: Well, this was another one of those 'write it as I think of it' kinda chapters… I hope it wasn't too crappy. I'm thinking I dropped Megan a little bit out of character here… and in pretty much every other chapter I wrote… but to be fair, writing this story in the first place is kinda outta character cause Megan (unfortunately) isn't like this in the real show :)**

**Anyway… Hope you enjoyed it all… or at least most of it :)**

**Leave your reviews on the way out. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ssssshhhhh, don't make a sound. We have discovered a wild update in it's natural habitat. Don't make any sudden movements or you might startle it. Just sit back and watch it go about it's natural business.**

Chapter 6 (Megan's POV)

And so it ends. This is the last day Drake is here with us, at least until he comes back, and I know he will: He's never broken a promise to me before and he sure as hell better not even think about starting now! That's right, he promised me he'd come back... Alive... In one piece... Ok, he didn't actually say that last part but it's a given really. Nobody would believe you if you told them but I don't want Drake to get hurt, not anymore, not now that this situation has made me realize that I do actually care about him.

All whilst I'm doing this little monologue in my head, I'm sat up straight in my bed in the darkness that is only slightly broken by my bedside lamp. It's 2am, and I can't sleep. I've gone over this day in my head so many times and not once has it turned out the same each time. I've made so many plans that we could do today as our last day together that it's not possible to do them all, and I still haven't come to a conclusion on which scenario to pick. I already know that one half of the day will most likely be dedicated to everyone in the house helping Drake pack his backs ready to leave (and knowing Drake, it would be last minute), but the rest of the day... well, everyone wants to spend time with him. I don't know when my turn will come or how long I will have, but I'm damn sure that I'm gonna make the most of it.

It was then that I heard an almost inaudible knock at my door and a whisper of my name.

"Megan?" came the voice from the other side. "Megan, are you awake?"

I pulled the covers off in a large arced motion and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I stood up and shuffled towards the door in my pink onesie, managing to avoid tripping over my floor rug in the darkness. I opened the door to see Drake's face at a height just above mine, looking down at me. He was a head taller than me after all.

The luminescence from my lamp reached across the room and bathed his face in a warm glow. But the expression I was greeted with was not one that filled me with happiness; more like concern. His was frowning slightly and he also looked a bit worried. As if to answer my unspoken question he finally greeted me with words.

"I didn't wake you did I?" he asked caringly.

That question made me slightly more relieved, it wasn't something I'd done, it was something he thought he'd done. I tried to speak quietly, but it came out as more of grumble; my throat was a little dry from not being in use during the night. Instead I silently attempted to clear my throat, when that didn't work, I just shook my head and stepped aside to let him in. He took the invitation gladly.

Once he was in, I shut the door carefully, trying not to make any loud noise that would wake anyone else up. I turned to see him sitting at the foot of my bed, staring at me intently.

"Hey." I whispered, still trying to get my voice into gear.

"Hey." He replied, still not taking his eyes off me.

We continued just looking at each other across the room. I knew he'd come here for some reason or another, but he didn't seem like he was gonna share it any time soon.

"Is there a problem?" I asked cautiously.

This time it was his turn to shake his head. But he still didn't say anything; he simply patted the space on my bed next to him. I slowly walked towards him, edging ever closer to him and yet no closer to an explanation or even a hint about what was going on.

By the time I got to him, I could see he was shaking slightly, barely noticeable, but I did notice. It wasn't cold in my room as far as I could tell, so he must have been shaking for an emotional reason. That was all the hint I needed to jump those last few steps towards him and engulf him in a bone-crushing hug. Well, considering how strong he was, it was probably not quite so much bone-crushing, more like having a large koala attach itself to your chest like it would a tree.

As small as I was compared to him, I think I caught him by surprise in that I knocked him flat onto his back on my bed. He encircled his big strong arms around my body and held me tight. It was then that the big strong man I called my older brother actually let his guard down and his emotions out. He wasn't quite crying, but he wasn't exactly smiley-faced either.

He was resting his chin on the back of my shoulder and the lower portion of his face was essentially drowning in my dark hair. The side of my face was deeply nestled against his neck. I could feel my tears slowly creeping down one side of my face as the other side was absorbed by his skin. He was gently scraping his fingers up and down my back as he comforted me: It was quite soothing.

"It just hit me, ya know?" Drake whispered behind my head, "How long I'll be gone, how much I'm gonna miss you. All of you."

I nodded slightly against his neck.

"It's a long time to go without seeing someone you're used to seeing every day." I sobbed quietly.

"Once I'm done with training a get to see you guys for a little while before I get deployed." Drake stated optimistically.

"But then you'll be gone... half way around the world in some desert I've probably never heard of." I said, leaning back to look at him fully.

"Yeah, but when I get the chance, I'll Skype you, and then when I get off on leave, I can come back!" He exclaimed, albeit a little louder than he probably intended to, but not so much that anyone else would have heard him.

*** "And when you do I don't want any of that surprise crap you see on news reports and in YouTube videos... I wanna know, the second you do, when you're coming back!" I said sternly, gritting my teeth.

A smile reappeared on his face, after being absent for so long.

"Maybe, maybe not... we'll just have to wait and see won't we?" He grinned.

I pouted and frowned at him, making it very clear that I wasn't kidding, but I had a feeling that my suggestion had already made him begin to formulate a plan for surprising me when he did eventually get back. ***

The time we had spent together this early morning was a little insight into how Drake was feeling about all this, and an even deeper understanding of how close we had become in the last few weeks. I had wanted my special alone time with him before he left and I still wanted more later on, but after this, I would have been content with it being the last time we had alone before he left. There were still things we could do later that day, when the sun was up...

**A/N: ...but that's all going to be part of the next chapter :)**

***** This part was inspired by a little conversation I had with my dearest twin cuz Lilly, when I was looking at joining the army. *****

**This hasn't been said in a while (mainly due to me not updating for a while), but for the benefit of newcomers, reading my stories for the first time (and those of you who are regulars and just choose to ignore me)... take a look at my profile, or the 'Authors Notes' at the end of Chapter 2 of my story: It was not your fault but mine. You will find a little writing challenge that might 'tickle your fancy' :)**

**R&R**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It would appear that WhatIsUnImAgInEd's story 'Sandcastles' has got more 3 more reviews than mine... But as much as I like him/her and his/her stories... That just won't do now will it?**

Chapter 7 (Megan's/ Josh's POV)

I woke up to a somewhat musty smell. At first I wasn't sure what it was, but then I opened my eyes properly, only to be greeted by the sight of Drake's armpit, covered by his shirt.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" I shrieked, still not quite awake until I made a noise.

Drake woke up with a start and quickly rolled off the bed, landing on his feet, and crouching low as if we were under attack from something. When he realized there was no danger, he gave me a quizzical look.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"I woke up with your pit in my face!" I shouted accusingly.

"That was it?!" He exclaimed. "You had me thinking we were in danger!"

"I was in danger!" I retorted, cracking a smile "From your stinkin pit!"

He returned the smile, except his grew into a grin.

"Oh, you're in for it now Megs!" He whispered.

I could feel my eyes growing wider than I thought was possible, until I realized he was giving me the slightest chance at a head-start. We both knew it wouldn't make a difference and that he'd get me, but I had to defend my dignity by at least almost escaping. I swung my bedroom door open and darted out, narrowly avoiding Josh on his way down the corridor.

"Hey, slow down Megan, you gonna... WHA!"

I turned my head just in time to see Josh cover his head, crouch, and cower in fear as Drake leap-frogged his balled up form and continued his pursuit of me. I headed for the stairs, only taking them 2 at a time, for fear of tripping and falling. As I reached the bottom, I snuck another glance behind me as Drake had made it to the top of the stairs, but he didn't stop, he leapt from the top step, I turned to face forward and continue running, but I heard the loud thud as he hit the floor and rolled to a stand, keeping his momentum.

I managed to barge past Walter, who was just coming through the front door, carrying an assortment of grocery bags... Well, he was. The bags and their contents ended up on the floor by the time I'd got through the door, as did Walter himself.

I had made it to the front yard and started sprinting across the grass. For a split second I actually thought I might get away. That was until I felt a strong force hit me in the back as Drake tackled me to the ground, rotating us as he did, so he was underneath me before we hit the ground. We rolled around the grass for a few minutes, Drake finding every opportunity he could to tickle me.

"DRAAAAKE! MEGAAAAN!" came a voice from the house.

Drake and I both looked at each other with the same mixture of fear and surprise in our eyes. As we sat up and looked towards the door, we saw mom standing there with her cooking apron on, her arms folded and a frown on her face.

"Uh oh!" I heard Drake whisper.

He shot a quick glance down the road.

"If you two even _think _about running, I'm going to beat you with this spoon when you get back!" She growled as she brandished a wooden mixing spoon from her apron pocket and pointed it at us.

"We weren't gonna!" Drake said in mock hurt.

Mom raised her eyebrows.

"I was just letting you know," she replied, "it's good to see you two getting along, but could be a little less destructive? Drake, you nearly went through the floor, and Megan you knocked your father over and spilt the groceries!"

"Oops..." Was all Drake could say.

"Come back inside, apologise to your father and then help him put the groceries away." Mom sighed as she retreated back into the house.

I turned to look at Drake, who had a big grin on his face.

"What?!" I asked.

"When you knocked Walter over, he was sprawled out on the floor and I had to jump over him." He laughed.

I giggled at the thought of Walter lying on the floor with various fruits surrounding him. Drake rolled backwards onto his back and thrust his feet up into the air which pulled the rest of his body up off the ground and rotated slightly so he landed in a standing position. I just rolled sideways onto my belly and pushed myself up off the floor so I stood next to him, before we made our way back inside.

**(Josh's POV)**

After my close call with the two speeding forms of the fellow teenagers I call my siblings, I turned myself around and walked towards the stairs. Mom had only asked me to go up and see what was going on after we heard Megan scream. I had managed to control myself enough not to wet myself, if only just, as Drake leapt over me.

Once I had reached the bottom, I saw my dad picking himself and some groceries off the floor. I ran over to help him just as Mom came out of the kitchen in her apron.

"What's going on here?!" She exclaimed.

Dad just pointed toward the door as he tried to regain his breath. It looked like he'd just had it knocked out of him.

We carried the groceries through to the kitchen just as we heard mom shout Drake and Megan's names.

"Busteeeed!" I said quietly to myself as I grinned.

Dad just started unpacking the food that managed to stay in the bags and attempted to find cupboards to put them all in. As we finished, mom walked in to continue her food preparation. About a minute or two later, Drake and Megan walked in.

Drake took a quick look round before stating "He doesn't need our help anymore." And they both walked out.

"Hey, Drake!" I called after them.

"Yeah?" he said as he stuck his head through the serving hatch.

"You wanna do a final bad movie Tuesday this afternoon? They're showing 'She ate my foot!' at the premiere." I asked

Drake pondered for a moment.

"But it's Saturday!" he declared.

"I know, but you won't be here on Tuesday!" I explained. He is so dim sometimes.

"Good point!" He announced, pointing his finger at me for emphasis. "Sure why not, sounds like fun."

"Great, I think there's a showing at about 4 o'clock."

"Cool, I can make it."

That was _my _plans for _my_ last day with Drake settled, but now I had started everyone else off.

"Speaking of plans for today," mom announced, "I'm baking a cake for lunch, and I would like us all to go out for dinner tonight as a family, around 7. So dress smart!"

We all nodded, including Megan, who had appeared on Drake's back during the announcement.

"The movie's about 2 hours," I told Drake, "that gives us an hour to get back and get ready."

Drake nodded.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"After lunch I'll help you pack your bags," mom said, "that'll give us some mother-son time."

Drake made a loud groan.

"Only if you don't start packing me 4 of everything and telling me I need them all!" He said accusingly.

Mom just smiled. "It's my job as a mother."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to lay claim to the couple of hours in between those two activities and take you for a few rounds of father-son golfing time on the course." Dad piped up.

"Sure, ok." Drake replied, with a little more enthusiasm than I thought he would.

He turned his head slightly so he could just see Megan's face over his shoulder.

"That means, for the rest of the morning, I'm all yours!" He grinned.

Megan tightened her grip on his neck for a crushing hug. Drake then turned around and piggybacked her back upstairs.

**A/N: Yay, I got this chapter done fairly quickly, not sure if that shows in the writing. As for reviews... In the words of Astaroth: Give me more, I want more!**

**R&R :)**


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